Jury selection began Monday in the first of a series of criminal trials he faces. He allegedly paid former adult film star Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 election to cover up his affair.
“This is a fraud trial. If you read all the legal experts today, not jurists, not a single person is saying this is a case that should have been brought or tried. It's a fraud. This is politics. It's a witch hunt,'' former President Donald Trump said as he left the courtroom on Monday.
President Trump may see it that way, but his hush money trial, which began Monday in New York, is very real in the eyes of prosecutors.
Jury selection began Monday in the first of a series of criminal trials he faces. He allegedly paid former adult film star Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 election to cover up his affair.
Prosecutors allege that Trump falsified business records as part of a cover-up. He pleaded not guilty to 34 charges in the case a year ago.
But even if Trump were convicted and sent to prison, could he still become president if re-elected this fall?
KOB 4 spoke to UNM legal experts and they say the answer is absolutely.
“The Constitution is very clear. It's about place of birth, which means being born in the United States. It's about age, which is 35 years old. And these two essential rules. Why was Alexander Hamilton not born in the United States? and was removed from the presidential election ballot,” said UNM law professor Joshua Kastenberg.
On Monday, the judge in the case excused about 50 jurors, saying they could not eliminate bias.
Kastenberg said jury selection takes extra effort because everyone knows Trump. But in a sense, he said, jurors will be getting a trial in front of the public.
“The jury doesn't have to know who the person is or what the crime was. That means the person can't prejudge the case and can't compare it to the other jurors. , or just not being able to start deliberating in your own head,” Kastenberg said.
Another hypothesis is that if a jury convicts Trump, could he pardon himself if re-elected? This is not a state case like the one in New York. There's only one person who can forgive him.
“President Trump cannot pardon himself for being convicted of a state crime, and that is what he faces in New York. He does not have the power to do that. Only the Governor of New York That's what we do,” Kastenberg said.
Jury selection can take a week, sometimes two weeks. The trial is expected to last six to eight weeks.
